INTRODUCTION
Hi and welcome to my 3rd flight report!
Because of exams, I wrote this six days after my Shanghai trip, which happens to be the day before I fly to Shanghai again on Air China’s 747-8 in economy class. Stay tuned for that!
Anyways, I recently embarked on a China Eastern A320neo to Shanghai with people from my school for a music festival at an international school in Shanghai. Before the flight, I was actually quite disappointed because I was expecting a wide-body aircraft like the A350 or B777, since the Beijing–Shanghai route is one of China’s busiest. But hey, at least it’s better than doing classwork all day.
⬇️Here’s how the whole journey turned out⬇️
DEPARTURES AT PEK
I hopped out of the school bus and headed in Terminal 2 of PEK. Despite terminal 2 being more outdated, I actually like terminal 2 more than PEK's terminal 3. The walking distances are way shorter, especially for international flights. Since this terminal is smaller than terminal 3.
I really like the plant decorations on the signages, they make the whole terminal feel more modern and lively.
Since I didn't check in using the China Eastern APP in advance, I thought I would have to wait in a long line that would probably take 30 minutes. But surprisingly, I was the first ones! The whole process went extremely fast and the staff were friendly the whole time.
After I received my boarding pass, I headed straight to security, which was literally right next to the check in counter. No extra walks!
There were very few people, so the whole process was quick and efficient.
The departures area had a good variety of shops and restaurants. There was even a small playground for little kids! The one and only thing I hated was the restroom. I can accept it being old, but the smell? ABSOLUTE DISASTER!
I was walking with my friend and we saw McDonalds, so we stopped by to get some food. I was surprised that the McDonalds in PEK sells canned coke instead of the usual McDonalds version.
Honestly, the McDonald’s in PEK T2 was pretty mediocre. Seating was limited, and the fries were soggy. I expected them to be fresh since we ordered in the store, not takeout. At least everything else tasted decent.
After finishing our food, I noticed there was an area with lounging chairs near us, so we moved our stuff there. The lounging chairs looked comfortable, but its actually the opposite. The seat was made of plastic, it felt extremely hard. But the view the chair was located at is extremely good.
Here's some pictures of the beautiful sunset:
When the sun was completely set, it was finally time to board. Boarding was faster than I expected, the whole process was quick and efficient.
CABIN AND SEAT
Here's a sneak peek of the business class cabin
The Business class recliners on this plane are the same as the ones Air Chinas has on their C919's.
China Eastern A320neo Business Class:
Air China C919 Business Class:
Since my flight was operated by a narrow-body aircraft, I didn't expect the seat to be good. But surprisingly, It was actually not bad.
I was really lucky since the plane I was on was less than a year old. So everything was extremely new.
The plane has Airbus's newest "AIRSPACE" cabin. Unlike the old A320 cabins, which had cramped overhead bins, harsh flourescent lighting, louder noise levels, the new "AIRSPACE" cabin offers spacious overhead bins that can fit everyones carry on, dynamic LED lights that reduces fatigue, and better soundproofing.
I was seated on seat 55A, the second last row of the plane. The economy class seat product China Eastern used for their A320neo's are also the same as Air China's C919.
The seat includes:
1. An adjustable headrest
2. An adjustable tray table in a descent size
3. A USB-A and 60W USB-C charging ports
4. A coat hook on the side of the seat
The difference of the seat between China Eastern's A320neo and Air China's C919 is that the headrest on China Eastern's seat is adjustable, while the headrest on Air China's C919 is fixed and extremely thin. You could barely notice one.
China Eastern A320neo:
Air China C919:
Another difference between of the seat on China Eastern's A320neo and Air China's C919 is the device holder. The seat on Air China's C919 was equipped with a device holder. Unfortunately, the seat on China Eastern's A320neo does not include that.
Air China C919:
The third difference is the tray table. On China Eastern’s A320neo, when you adjust the table towards yourself, it extends and becomes even bigger, while Air China’s C919 does not have this feature.
China Eastern A320neo:
Sorry, I couldn’t find a picture of Air China’s tray table adjusted towards me, but I’m 100% sure that when you pull it towards you, it doesn’t extend.
The seats are thin, but I didn't find them uncomfortable
By the way, since it’s the same seat as Air China’s C919, feel free to check out my flight report from Beijing to Hangzhou on Air China's COMAC C919 in economy.
Flight routing
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Now lets talk about the downsides of this seat:
First of all, the legroom. As someone who is 180cm (5 feet 11 inches) tall, the legroom of China Eastern's A320neo is mid. The legroom is approximately 30-31 inches, it feels a little cramped for me. And because of the mid legroom, I couldn't stretch my legs comfortably. Good thing it's a short-haul flight or else my legs will explode.
And also, there was almost zero entertainment. Literally, all mainland carriers don’t equip personal IFE screens in narrow-body economy, which makes the whole journey extremely boring if you didn’t bring your own entertainment. There wasn’t even an overhead screen, and there was no onboard Wi-Fi either. At least Air China has its own onboard platform with movies and mini-games, but China Eastern has absolutely nothing.
During check-in, my friend and I got one window and one aisle seat. We joked and bet that the middle seat would stay empty, and it turned out we were right. It was great having that extra space, and we didn’t have to squeeze past anyone. It made the whole flight feel a lot more comfortable and relaxed.
BYE BYE, PEK
Taxi and takeoff went smoothly, with no delays. Great start to the flight.
Here are some pictures:
DINNER SERVICE
Dinner service began once the seatbelt sign turned off. China Eastern’s food service was a bit shabby. While Air China offers two different meal options and a variety of drinks, China Eastern only had one option, fish. And there weren’t any drinks besides water. Still, at least you get a free hot meal on a short-haul flight, which is basically a dream in the US.
Main Dish: Fish with rice
Snack on the side: Crispy rice
Dessert: Lychee jelly and yogurt
Fruit: Watermelon and cantaloupe
Drink: A bottle of water
Despite having only one option, the food actually tasted pretty good.
LAVATORY
No flight review is complete without checking out the lavatory! I didn’t go on this flight, but I checked the bathroom on the return flight. It was clean with the basic amenities, like soap and paper towels. Nothing fancy, but it was perfectly functional.
A FREEZING FINAL APPROACH
When the seatbelt sign turned on for landing, the plane began its descent towards PVG. That’s when things started going downhill for me. The AC was blasting freezing air that felt like minus ten degrees Celsius. Since the service had stopped, I couldn’t get a blanket, so I ended up shivering in the cold for almost an hour, all the way until the plane finally taxied to the gate.
Because of the AC, I felt chilled for the rest of the night and worried I might catch a cold, but luckily, everything returned to normal the next day.
The landing was smooth, but the taxiing time was extremely long, so I had to sit in the cold for quite a while :(
PVG ARRIVALS
I arrived at PVG’s S1 satellite terminal. It’s new and well-maintained, but I was pretty annoyed because getting to baggage claim was such a long walk. I even had to take a train packed with people, and since it was already past 10PM, I was completely drained.
After almost 30 minutes, I finally arrived at baggage claim. The main terminal of PVG’s Terminal 1 is old, but quite efficient, and I got my suitcase really quickly.
After getting my suitcase, I had to do another loooong walk from there to the school bus, and I also had to wait for the bus for quite a long time in the cold. Arrrrrrgh >:(
After approximately 10 minutes, the school bus finally arrived. This marks the end of this flight report. Thanks for reading along :)
